Source:  WorldArchitectureNews.com, 01.14.2011

Skylines are defined as the ‘fingerprints' of a city. The nature of the Las Vegas skyline is not read as a profile like Chicago or New York.  Las Vegas is a collage. It is a paradoxical non-city that is memorable.  To address the client's brief to create a new sustainable urban destination, Murphy / Jahn's approach to veer° TOWERS established that the context for the project was not to focus on the historical background, but rather to establish a framework for a new order and redefine the image of Las Vegas. Until now, the memory of Las Vegas' skyline was graphic; the architects' goal was always to make it urbanistically significant, formally simple and elegant, technologically advanced and environmentally responsible. 

The highest ambition of veer° TOWERS lies in the generation of urban life; typologically it is an unexpected program in the Las Vegas Strip's idiosyncratic context.  Inclined at dramatic opposing angles, veer° TOWERS are defined by simplicity and dynamism, reinforcing their iconic character as the residential focal point of the city centre complex.  With approximately 400 residences in each 37-storey glass tower, veer° fulfilled the clients brief to create a residential hub for their new urban center and to capture the gesture of city living with a rhythmic animated facade. The high-rise residences float between the base, with its retail functions and 80' tall lobbies featuring public artwork by Richard Long, and the private amenities and outdoor infinity pools on the roof. The buildings are at once robust and delicate. Slender towers that are clad in clear, non-reflective glass, veer° becomes the first truly transparent building in Las Vegas, creating a visual dialogue between the desert and the residents. In a desert climate, that alone represents a great technological and even cultural challenge. Staggered panels of clear and fritted yellow glass cut glare and provide abundant natural daylight, while animating the facades and enlivening the complex with a welcome shot of color. Horizontal louvers on the east, south and west facades create a repetitive texture to the façade that provides shade from the desert sun.

The manifesto for the project was to exhibit urban responsibility, pay attention to the building's performance in terms of function and systems, use advanced and available technology, accept the aesthetic of construction and elevate it to a level of art. With the support of the client, these fundamental ambitions allowed us to achieve LEED Gold certification by the USGBC despite having the lowest budget, and most technically challenging design in the city centre complex. veer° TOWERSin turn defines city centre as modern and visionary in constructing and open-ended micro urban system that will inform the future growth of Las Vegas.